Baseball stadium plan strikes out

Lloyd terminates project, citing cost overruns

The proposed Downtown baseball stadium is dead, but the issue won't go away - not in a city election year.

Republican Mayor Russ Lloyd Jr. on Monday terminated all work on the stadium, saying the latest projections on construction showed overruns of $1.5 million to $3 million above the original stadium budget of $25.5 million.

That would require property taxpayers to foot that bill, and Lloyd said he would not do that.

When he took office in 2000, Lloyd said he promised "not to raise the taxes of the hard-working families of Evansville."

He later added: "This project is dead."

Stadium backers, while disappointed with Lloyd's decision, cited the mayor's courage in deciding to drop the stadium proposal rather than use property tax revenue. Fellow Republicans also praised his courage to scrap the project, once considered on a "fast track."

Democrats keyed in on the city still having to spend nearly $1 million for work already done on the stadium project. Democrats claimed poor planning led to wasting money, and they cited concerns that Lloyd may attempt to revive the stadium idea if he is re-elected.

City Corporation Counsel Larry Downs said $985,000 must be paid for work already done on the stadium project. He said $285,000 is for legal and other fees on land a lease agreement with team owner David Heller, who planned to move a Class A Los Angeles Dodgers-affiliated team here.

Another $700,000 is for architecture and design work, Downs said.

Lloyd said the bills will be paid from the $10 million in Casino Aztar lease payments the city had earmarked for stadium construction.

Republican Party county chairwoman Bettye Lou Jerrel praised Lloyd's decision. "It took a lot of guts to do it. I admire him for that."

The stadium was not popular with some voters, Jerrel said, and how the issue affects the upcoming campaign "depends on how the public perceives this." "If you know something isn't going to come together, you'd be foolish to continue with it. Russ is not foolish. He'd done too many good things to hang his hat on something that cannot be put together."

Democratic state Rep. Jon-athan Weinzapfel, expected to be Lloyd's mayoral challenger, said Lloyd was "working as a Lone Ranger to make this project happen."

He said Lloyd failed to involve the public, other local elected officials or the legislature from the outset.

"What a waste of scarce resources to the city," Weinzapfel said about the $985,000.

Lloyd's "complete and utter failure on this project jeopardizes any big ticket item (later) for the Downtown," Weinzapfel said. "Elected officials and the business community will be gun shy of future development ideas."

Niel Ellerbrook, chair of the stadium implementation committee, said killing the project doesn't solve the problem of a project to revitalize the Downtown.

The stadium never gained public support that backers hoped for, said Ellerbrook, chairman and CEO of Vectren.

Lloyd showed guts in drawing attention to be benefits a stadium could bring, he said, But it's "highly unlikely the project can be resurrected for years and years," Ellerbrook said.

City Councilman Jeff Kniese, R-1st Ward, said he was proud of Lloyd "sticking to his guns" and not exceeding the budget and using property taxes for the project. "I think that shows his character," Kniese said.

City Council President Curt John, D-at large, said the stadium will remain an issue in the mayoral campaign.

"The public had a great deal of dissatisfaction with the proposal," John said. "There's going to be that doubt that if (Lloyd is) re-elected are we going to see it (the stadium) on the table next year."

John said the stadium project is typical of the GOP administration's shaky fiscal management. "They jump into a project before researching it. Again they are putting the cart before the horse," he said.

Lloyd, noting the stadium could help revive the Downtown, said the decision to kill the project was made last weekend.

He said construction estimates compiled from recently completed detailed drawings showed the potential cost overruns. The estimates weren't possible until those plans were ready, he said.

The plans called for the new stadium infield to be 15 feet below ground level.

Lloyd noted, as an example of cost overrun, construction experts said because of the soil condition, seven more feet of soil would have to be excavated at an additional cost of $1 million.

Lloyd said the city will not acquire any land for the stadium site and will halt design, construction and lease steps.

Heller, when contacted on Monday, said if the city ever proceeded with the stadium in the future, he still would be interested in moving a team to Evansville.

"I haven't given up on Evansville," he said.

Lloyd wanted the Evansville stadium opened by April 2004. But that timetable appeared to slip in recent weeks as several important steps were pushed back, including asking state permission to proceed with a city bond of up to $13 million.

City officials said they were waiting to see if the legislature would approve a statewide auto rental tax to generate more than $600,000 for annual bond payments of more than $1 million.

Lloyd said passage of the tax this year was doubtful.

Without the auto rental tax, the city could count on having only slightly more than $800,000 a year for annual bond payments.

"I will not make up the difference with property tax money," Lloyd said.

He rejected downsizing the stadium, projected to seat 7,200 in the latest design.

"When this project was launched in October of last year," Lloyd said, "none of us foresaw that our country would be at war, that the Indiana Supreme Court would limit the ability of the Legislature to adopt special legislation, that the state budget crisis would affect local government and that our local schools would face an enormous funding crisis.

"At this time, a Downtown baseball stadium is not one of them. This project is dead."